The event, which Heritage Lacrosse unveiled this past weekend at The Hill School in Pottstown, featured positional instruction, warm-up drills and field stations, a series of eight 7v7 games and traditional full-field Match-Ups among eight teams created from the roster of registrants.

Twenty-two players have been honored for their play during the event as members of the All-Match Upperclassmen Team, consisting of boys in the 2014/2015 graduations years. Seventeen players were selected for the All-Match Underclassmen Team. (see teams below).

Selections were based on observations and input from the coaches who coached the teams in both the short-sided games and full-field Match-Ups. Coaches in attendance included Ned Ide, former Head Coach at The Hill School, Johnny Mouradian, General Manager of the Philadelphia Wings, Dave Mullen, Head Coach at The Hill School, Brian Samson, Head Coach at Conestoga, and Dave Stilley, former MLL/NLL player and current Director of Player Development at The Shipley School.

“We were thrilled and impressed with the overall quality of our participants and the level of play on the field,” said Scott Growney, Co-Director of the event. “We wanted to recognize some of the players who distinguished themselves and attracted the attention of our coaches.”

Overall, the event directors were pleased with the amount of interest in The Match and were happy to stage an event that attracted over 25 Division II/III college coaches who came to see college lacrosse prospects present themselves in the context of a slightly different showcase format.

“Many of the college coaches in attendance told us they enjoyed the small-sided games because it provided end-to-end action and gave them a chance to see all our players handle the ball – on offense, defense, in the goal and in transition,” said Growney. “There was very little down time and all the players got lots of opportunities and exposure.”

College coaches in attendance also expressed interest in the ReQRuitme QR Codes in the MatchBooks given to them when they registered. They were treated to quick tutorials on the ReQRuitme application by ReQRuitme co-founders Steve Gonzalez and Ed Gershman.

Many coaches were soon busy scanning codes and accessing on-line player profiles in real time on their handheld devices. Others were circling the QR Codes for review after the event. Gonzalez and Gershman also reported that the feedback from players and parents was positive as well.

All-Match Brendan McGrath (Central Bucks South-PA,2015 attackman)

The Match gave players the opportunity to secure game film and highlights through Schaf’s Video Productions, a full-service video production company specializing in high school sports videography and highlight film production.

The company was on site to capture high quality video footage of every game on every field during the event, including all 8 twelve-minute games played in the 7v7 format and all full-field games. Growney noted that registrants and parents seemed eager to obtain meaningful film footage and, for some, highlight films, since the format was designed to optimize each player’s participation and the chance to showcase his skills.

“We are really pleased with how The Match was received by everyone involved,” said Growney. “The Hill School and its new facilities were a wonderful venue for the event.”

“Most of all, it was nice to hear the chorus of compliments from the players and parents in attendance, who appreciated the novel format and our focus on the great opportunities afforded to student-athletes interested in playing high level lacrosse at the Division II/III level,” said Growney. “We certainly wish all our registrants well and encourage them to continue doing well in the classroom and to ‘Focus on the Fit, not the Frenzy,’ in the college recruitment process.”